Look For Them

August 26, 2020May 28, 2021 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

You can see them on the periphery

or sometimes in small groups.

Often they are alone,

sitting comfortably and quietly observing.

These are the wise ones.

They may be bent by the years

and a little rough around the edges.

They may move slowly

and with care…

for they have learned to honor the limits.

When in their presence,

look deeply.

Meet their eyes with yours.

You will be stunned by the light of life

which sparkles with the kind of glow

that can only be fashioned over time.

Allow yourself to soak up its wisdom.

Take the time.

Don’t miss this connection.

Instead, know this:

these are the ones to know –

for they long to sing their song for you,

to tell the story.

Life has finally made them real.

If you slow down enough

to take a seat,

you will discover gold.

“Once you are real you cannot be ugly except to those who don’t understand.” —Velveteen Rabbit

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

What Lies Beneath

December 7, 2019December 7, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

The deeper I go

into understanding all

that is,

the more

I appreciate this

gift of life.

Working with the dying

is a visual lesson

of the peeling away of

the layers.

It is also a heart lesson.

For when the exterior is finished,

what is left?

This is the ever-present question.

To live from heart and soul,

and to avoid the outward distractions,

means to leave

your presence and love behind

when the body is gone.

So, I am learning the lessons

of letting go now.

I let go of everything

that is not connected to Truth and Love.

Because when my body is gone,

I want those who knew me

to know that my love was real

and that I lived with an open

and generous heart.

For it is the Love that lies beneath

that lingers after we leave.

This is the miracle of

eternal life.

We live on in the hearts of others

and in the memory of time.

Poem · Poetry

A Teacher in the Midst

November 1, 2019November 9, 2019 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

He sits in my lap

purring away, as is his normal routine.

We greet the morning together

this way

every day.

Me with my coffee and laptop,

him with an open attentiveness.

Sure, the creature needs have been met –

he has had his breakfast –

and I already noted my coffee…

But once nurtured and fed,

my kitty always presents himself to me

to demonstrate his gratitude.

There is no other agenda –

just togetherness and

presence embraced.

I celebrate this simplicity

and his example.

He is regal in his ability to just be.

It is a treasure to behold.

I take a moment to bow to the Master

and give thanks for his furry presence

freely given.

Namaste, dear creature.

I can see you.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

This One Life

July 30, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

You see, to live

one must do these things:

like a bird about to take flight,

one must believe it is possible –

that our wings can be trusted.

When happy, allow it to be!

Share your happy face and glow

as created to do so.

When sad, embrace being seen as sad –

and surrender to the hug of compassion

packaged in sweet understanding and growth.

The struggles will come and go.

The secret is to surf the highs and lows

and learn to fall gracefully

and repeatedly.

There will always follow

chances to rise up again courageously.

We are here to love.

It is that simple –

and, also that complicated.

For most of us have learned

to turn away from the divine imprint

which shows us how to love

and accept our differences.

Remember that the journey of grace

is more inward

than outward.

We lose our layers of skin

and find peace in the presence

of this one moment.

We discover a deeper belonging.

We understand that we already have it all.

This is the amazing glimpse that,

when captured,

enables us to be the beautiful souls we are.

We can let go.

We can be free.

We can choose joy.

“Strange as it may seem today to say, the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” – Henry Miller

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Like Me

July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

Like me,

I bet you don’t like to be

inconvenienced by illness or stress.

Like me,

you probably aim to control and manage

everything in front of you.

Like me,

sadness is not an option

you would choose.

Like me,

your busyness gets in the way

of your experience of peace and

even love.

Like me,

your striving and perfectionism

puts you in a box

which limits spontaneity and joy.

Like me,

your thoughts drive you

and mostly go unnoticed.

But also like me,

you are growing in awareness.

Like me,

you don’t give up.

Like me,

laughter and health

bubble forth, anyway.

Like me,

you are a Velveteen Rabbit,

and you are being loved

into being made more real.

Like me,

you are learning the

gift of surrender.

Like me,

grace finds you.

Like me,

you are grateful for it all.

In peace,

my spirit bows to your spirit.

We are one.

And you are like me.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

We Are Needed

June 5, 2019July 13, 2021 becomingandbeholding4 Comments

It takes just a moment

to pause and let go –

to notice.

Presence always waits patiently for us.

She is found in the smallest of things…

The slow drip of water

off a rock

which holds the riverbank in place….

Presence is there.

The thought that gives birth to the word that spawns a tear…

Yes. There.

In that moment between

the reach of your hand

to the lifting of another –

Or when the homeless man

catches your eye and

a generous smile blooms…

There!

How short our time is!

We squander Presence like we waste water…

We forget to look,

to hear the slow drip,

to speak the unspoken word.

We get lonely in this poverty

of connection.

Sad, isn’t it?

This slip of a rose through the grasp of our fingers.

We ignore the dropped flower

and miss out on the bouquet,

the colors…

And then we grieve the loss of

a flower to cheer us –

it’s brilliance unwitnessed.

Love is like this , too.

It can hide beneath.

So, let’s elevate the

Presence and the Love, too.

For without them,

we aren’t even here.

And we are so needed.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

I Can See Who You Are

October 30, 2018November 11, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

We hustle.

We bustle.

We cover up.

We avoid.

In the constant press forward,

the moments are lost.

When able to still ourselves,

we can catch glimpses of

what is real.

I sat with a patient,

one of the sweet ones

with dementia.

Her eyes alive

with love and openness…

Her speech cute and senseless

most of the time.

I am present to her

and focus on being –

instead of doing.

When the time for goodbye comes,

I touch her shoulder

and lean in.

Her eyes widen

as these words spill forth

in clarity and affection:

“I can see who you are!”

Grace finds me

and I am blessed by her glimpse.

I am reminded…

I am Love.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

The Gray

October 6, 2018October 6, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

It seems easier

when what feels clear and true

is always right, too.

It is a comfort

when the ground on which

we stand and build upon

has the strength

of generations

or habit.

We like our side of the street.

The other side

is far away, and

difficult to see.

It is not important to us.

For all is clear where we are.

It feels safe and protected.

In between these sharp edges

of clarity

is the territory

of the gray.

It is a fuzzier place.

The ground seems shakier.

We are repelled by it –

but, at times,

a bit curious, too.

Mostly,

we prefer familiar ground.

Thankfully, life ends up instructing us

along the way,

through hardship and insight,

to be more open to the gray.

Our edges get worn down

and are revealed to us

as false structures.

In the middle,

is the place of softening

and opening up.

It is the place of meeting –

of healing.

Life is less

black and white

in the gray.

There are new choices to explore,

colors to adore.

When we can learn

to embrace

this middle place,

wisdom is born,

along with a letting go

which liberates

and brings us together.

When we enter the gray,

we have learned the value

of dropping

what does not matter.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Loss For Words

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

When I have a moment

or three,

I like to sit

and light a candle.

I open my laptop

and position my hands…

my fingers are at the ready.

I wait for the words.

Sometimes they arrive

rather quickly.

Lately,

for reasons only my soul knows,

not so much.

I wonder why this is so.

It has been a challenging time

of late

with a health issue here –

relationship issues there…

My mind and heart

have been busy

and not in the good way –

the way of truth and inspiration.

My spiritual training teaches me

that my distractions of late

are just that –

DISTRACTIONS.

They have a quality of

friction –

and friction usually

rubs the wrong way.

It can also hurt and harm

when it keeps going

and the tender places

get wounded.

My task now

is to reorient myself.

It is time to surrender

in faith

and allow myself to be lifted

out and beyond

anything that keeps me

from being

who I really am.

It is time to heal.

So, no more scratching the itch

of all that seems

to be rubbing –

keeping me focussed

on the discomforts of life

that are not real.

Instead, I will mindfully

let go of all that.

It is time to step aside

from the personal

and be here wholeheartedly

as a channel for the divine –

to be a beneficial presence.

What could possibly be better?

It takes practice –

and attention –

moment to moment.

This is not what we are taught

but it is available to us

as the literal,

ANSWER-

the one we all seek.

I speak the truth.

The fact I know that

means I am on my way…

So, here I go.

Perhaps this larger

expanse of view

will bring

my words back to me

so I can be helpful

to others

as the divine reaches

through everything I offer

as an expression

of divine love –

always available,

but not always seen.

It seems a beautiful endeavor.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

No Matter

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

The ground may shift

and the weather, change

on a daily basis.

It does not matter.

The look in your eye

may have less sparkle

for a day – or more…

It does not matter.

The body might morph

into a vessel of pain

or disease…

It does not matter.

Change is everywhere.

It is not what Life is.

It is simply experience –

the classroom of Life.

Life is within

and it is everlastingly

with us

as the heart of everything –

the place of Love,

of God,

of Peace,

of Truth.

This is where we connect

and get our fuel

to endure our experiences.

Don’t allow

the pull of distraction –

or the disease

of the personal,

hold you to

all that does not matter.

What a precious waste

of Life

that is.

Your ground awaits

and patiently protects

the gifts of

Joy and Presence

which belong to

you.